Fattoria di Fubbiano - A Winery with Tuscan Views

June 11, 2018 by Joanne Bartram in Tuscany, Lucca, Italy travel, Walking, Italy, Travel, Wine, Cooking

If you close your eyes and picture the perfect Tuscan landscape, what comes to mind will likely look a lot like the area surrounding the Fattoria di Fubbiano. If your picture includes rolling hills, tall cedars, ancient farmsteads, vineyards, olive groves, and a small hill town in the distance, then you have it just right.

The direct translation of the Italian word fattoria is farm - but direct translations don't always capture the essence of a word. A fattoria can be anyplace involved in agriculture - from the classic farm with rows of vegetables and barnyard animals to a terraced hillside where grapes and olives are grown. The Fattoria di Fubbiano is the latter - 130 some acres of vineyards and olive groves tucked into the hills 15 kilometers (9 miles) east of Lucca just below the hilltop town of San Gennaro.

A fattoria has existed in this spot for a long time - the property dates to the late 1600s. Local tax records list an even earlier date for the first cultivation of vines and olive trees here. Ownership of the fattoria has changed hands many times, with the current owners purchasing the antique property in 2002. They have since restored the fattoria buildings and original villa, converted some buildings into guest quarters and tended the gardens and view terraces.

The biggest project was the construction of a new and very modern cantina. This is where the harvested grapes arrive and where the Fubbiano wines are produced and bottled. The original cantina, a beautiful building with arching brick ceilings, now serves as an events space.

Several wines are produced at Fattoria di Fubbiano, including three reds, two whites, and a Vin Santo. All are DOC-certified (which assures place of origin as being from the Lucchese hills, as well as variety of grape and quality). Also produced is a rosé (labeled Schiller, the name of the family that owns the fattoria) and a super Tuscan (labeled I Pampini and a personal favorite). Along with these excellent wines, the grapes are used to produce grappa and a wine vinegar. The wines are well respected locally and internationally. Thirty percent of the produced wines are exported to the United States.

My visit to the Fattoria di Fubbiano was to tour the grounds and winery and then to participate in a cooking class in the old cantina building. The winery tour was informative and interesting (even if it was hard not to be distracted by the amazing views of the surrounding vineyards and hillsides). The cooking class, offered as an afternoon cultural excursion by Lucca Italian School, was a delight. Together we prepared an appetizer of fried zucchini flowers with a filling of ricotta, basil, and pecorino cheese, a handmade-filled pasta (Tordelli Lucchese), a fragrant roasted pork, and a classic local dessert (Zuppa Lucchese).

After the meal prep was complete, our group of about 20 shared an aperitivo of Fubbiano wines and the crisp, melt-in-your-mouth zucchini flowers out on a wisteria-covered terrace overlooking a stunning Tuscan landscape. Sitting on that terrace in the soft light of a spring evening, sipping wine, and talking to the interesting people who come to Lucca to study Italian, was a special kind of wonderful.

Eventually we went back inside to eat the meal we had prepared. We dressed our salads with olive oil and vinegar from the fattoria, and had some of the white and red Fubbiano wines to accompany our dinner. Everyone agreed that all of the work to prepare the meal was well worth the effort, producing a delicious cena (dinner). Cooking classes are always a highlight of my time in Lucca and when combined with the setting of this characteristic Tuscan fattoria, they are especially wonderful. -post by JMB

A cooking class in the old cantina, Fattoria di Fubbiano

Contact information:

Fattoria di Fubbiano 55010 San Gennaro, Lucca, Italy. Website: Fattoria di Fubbiano.it

Lucca Italian School. Via dei Bacchettoni, 25 55100 Lucca, Italy Website: luccaitalianschool.com

A meal-size salad with fruit, cheese, nuts and a balsamic glaze, Santa Cristina Enoteca, Lucca.

Insalata - Salad, Italian Style

February 19, 2018 by Joanne Bartram in food, Cooking, Italy, Restaurants Italy

Panzanella Salad, Osteria Cantine Bernardini, Lucca — Panzanella Salad, Osteria Cantine Bernardini, Lucca

Salads in Italy come in many varieties, including simple insalata verde (green salad, just a big bowl of lettuce), insalata mista (mixed salad of lettuce, carrots, tomato, perhaps some fennel), and meal-size insalatone (big salads filled with cheeses, meats, seafood, fruits, nuts). There are also delicious specialty salads such as caprese (tomato, fresh mozzarella with basil), panzanella (tomato, cucumber, red onion, basil and crumbled bread with olive oil and vinegar), and carciofi (fresh shaved artichokes with Parmesan and olive oil). All are delicious, especially when made with local fresh ingredients and eaten somewhere in Italy!

I enjoy each of these types of salads but, secondo me (in my opinion), the absolute best salad in Italy is an insalata di bresaola. Bresaola is not well known in the U.S. (at least not outside of cities with big Italian communities like Boston, New York, and San Francisco), especially compared to the more familiar Italian salumi (cold cut) products like prosciutto, salami, and mortadella. I first tasted bresaola on a trip to Rome many years ago and it's always one of the first things I want to eat when I return to Italy. And, because it is low-fat and low-carb, it is one Italian food that I never feel guilty about eating.

Thinly sliced bresaola, with just a hint of marbeling.

Bresaola is a beef cold cut, made from what we in the U.S. would call the top round cut. It is a specialty of the Valtellina, an alpine valley in northern Italy. Like prosciutto, bresaola is produced through a process of salting and drying. But, unlike prosciutto, the beef is trimmed of all visible fat before being rubbed with a salt and spice mixture. Also, the aging process is shorter, usually two to three months. The final product is deep red in color, soft (never leathery), delicate in texture, and fragrant. It's served very thinly sliced and is so very delicious.

Bresaola is typically served as an antipasto, often as a salad with peppery arugula (but also good on crisp lettuce). It is topped with shaved Parmesan and dressed with olive oil and lemon juice or balsamic vinegar. I can easily make a meal out of this salad, especially if I have some focaccia on the side.

Bresaola filled with ricotta and mint ( Lucca Italian School, Speak and Cook Italian class)

There are other ways to use bresaola as well. In a cooking class (at Lucca Italian School), I learned to fix it as an antipasto in which round slices were topped with a mixture of fresh ricotta mixed with chopped mint, folded over into half moon shapes, and drizzled with thick balsamic glaze. Heavenly! Bresaola also goes well with a variety of meats and cheeses on an antipasto platter and makes a great panini (sandwich) on salty focaccia with some tomato and a soft cheese. Or just pick up a slice and eat it in your hand as a quick snack. It's hard for me to find at home, so I always eat plenty of it while I'm in Italy.

-post by JMB

Contacts:

Lucca Italian School Via dei Bacchettoni 25, 55100 Lucca, Italy. Lucca Italian School.com

Santa Cristina Enoteca. Via XX Settembre 10, 55100 Lucca, Italy Santacristina.enoteca@gmail.com

Osteria Cantine Bernardini Via del Suffragio 7, 55100. Lucca, Italy. Cantinebernardini.com

Seduced by Italian

March 02, 2017 by Judy Giannnettino in Lucca

It was always the language. There are many things to love about Italy, but when people ask me what I first fell in love with, the answer is: the language. Before I ever set foot in the country, I fell in love with Italian.

On my first trip to Italy, I visited what travel books call "The Big Three": Venice, Florence and Rome. Before I went, I wanted to learn a bit of the language. I bought the obligatory "traveler's Italian" tapes and a book from a bookstore (this was before you could download lessons on the Internet) and started studying one night after work. That night led to the next and the next and the next. Studying Italian became an obsession. For me, the full-bodied musicality of the Italian language is as seductive as the country's beautiful people, landscape and art.

The first city I visited in Italy was Venice. Staying at a small hotel near Piazza San Marco, I awoke the morning after my arrival and headed to the breakfast room. I greeted a young waiter with a hearty "Buon giorno. Com'e sta?" and actually saw the man's eyes light up when he heard me speak Italian - even though I only spoke four small words. I felt so proud, so worldly, so Italian. The waiter answered with a fast-paced string of several sentences that left me wide-eyed and stammering a somewhat embarrassed, "Oh, no, no, no, no - that's all I can say." Instead of being annoyed, he gave me a gracious smile and asked - in English - if I wanted a coffee or cappuccino. The conversation left me feeling a bit foolish. But it also gave me an idea of what a connection I would be able to make with people in Italy if I could speak their language.

Along with the architecture, history, music and food of Italy, the language seduces.

The next morning, I awoke, opened the windows in my room and listened to two Italian men talk on the street below. I had no idea what they were saying, yet I could have listened to the melodic conversation all day. On every trip to Italy, part of what I enjoy is the Italian language soundtrack I get to hear. And as my ability to speak the language has improved, I find that just having a brief conversation in Italian with a train station clerk or waiter brings me sheer joy.

Florence was among the cities I visited on my first trip to Italy.

I have studied Italian on my own and with wonderful Italian tutors in New Mexico. Last year, I studied Italian in Italy for the first time. I went to the Lucca Italian School. What fun! What wonderful teachers! What interesting fellow students! (Look for blog posts about the school by Joanne in a few weeks.) I'm heading back this year and non vedo l'ora (I can't wait).

-post by JG

Falling in Love with Lucca

February 13, 2017 by Joanne Bartram

Why Lucca? That is a question I hear a lot. Why do I keep going back to this one Italian cittadina (small town) every year? Why do I hold a space for myself there, adopting it as my second home, falling more in love with it every time I visit?

Lucca, as seen from atop the Torre Guinigi.

Some history: A chance encounter in an Italian train station pointed me toward Lucca. A fellow passenger described a wonderful town surrounded by a wall - a wide park-like wall where people biked, walked and socialized. A town with few tourists and amazing charm. That sounded intriguing and so I put Lucca on my "must-see" list. I had no idea at the time that it would be so many years before I would actually get there.

Fast-forward 15 years - by this time I had made several short trips to Italy and I was looking for a different, longer, more authentic experience. I remembered Lucca from that earlier conversation and had also recently seen a TV show filmed there - complete with video of those walls. I also thought it would be fun to spend some time studying the Italian language in Italy and my research led me to Lucca Italian School. It was definitely time to check out Lucca!

Lucca's famous tower - the Torre Guinigi - and the characteristic rooftops of Lucca.

In 2011 I spent four days in Lucca to "try it on for size" and see if it would be a good spot for a future, longer stay. For me, it was love at first sight - and I like to think that Lucca fell a little bit in love with me too for it has certainly welcomed me back with open arms ever since. I knew immediately that I would feel comfortable (and safe) there, even traveling solo. Several things contributed to that instant feeling. For starters, Lucca is small in size. The entire centro storico (central part of the historic city) is contained within the walls, which are about 2.5 miles in circumference. The walls really are the Central Park of Lucca, full of vibrant activity. Lucca is a walkable city, it takes 15 to 20 minutes to walk from one corner of the town to the opposite corner. Every step of the walk takes you past historic buildings, fountains, statues, beautiful churches, and cafes that invite you to linger over a cappuccino. What a combination of sights and experiences! Add in the musical sound of the Italian language, the warmth and friendliness of the people, the enticing scents drifting out of bakeries and restaurants, and the magic of sitting in a piazza for an aperitivo on a warm summer evening. Falling in love with Lucca was easy.

The back of the Basilica of San Frediano as seen from the wall

I have returned to Lucca each year since that first visit in 2011. I spent a month there in 2012, my first experience with solo travel and with studying the Italian language in Italy. At the time I thought that month would be a once-in-a-lifetime adventure, but I was quickly drawn into the magic of Lucca and found myself planning a next trip well before the current one had ended. With each new visit I have become more enamored. I love studying the language in a place where I hear it spoken all day, every day, all around me (not to mention that Lucca Italian School is an amazing place with amazing teachers - more on that in a future post). I love the solo travel experience and find it absolutely life-changing. I like living car-free, walking everywhere. I've made friends from all over the world with other students at the language school; friends I now connect with routinely throughout the year (thank you Facebook) and in person when we meet in Lucca each year. I feel at home in the shops and restaurants and have made friends there too. I love the serenity of the churches and the excitement of the many festivals. Lucca has truly become a second home for me, a place always in my heart, and I am counting the weeks until I can return. Until then, I will retrace favorite walks in my mind, cook Italian dishes, crank up the volume on some Italian music, and brush up on my language skills.

Aperitivo in Piazza San Francesco, Lucca.

I hope that you too will plan a trip to Lucca in the future - let's meet there for an aperitivo!

-post by JB

Contacts: Lucca Italian School www.luccaitalianschool.com